


Reverse Psychology

by needleyecandy



Series: Silly September [31]
Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Falling In Love, M/M, Self-Pity, brief angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-31 16:50:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12136848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/needleyecandy/pseuds/needleyecandy
Summary: Loki's fall from the Bifrost is swift, but Mjolnir is swifter, and Thor catches Loki and brings him home... but this is only the beginning. Loki needs to feel like a member of the family once again, in a way that he'll never doubt.Or, Frigga always knows what to do.





	1. Chapter 1

Thor caught hold of Loki's staff and just as they began to fall together, a hand grabbed his ankle. Heimdall, Thor thought, until Loki spoke. 

"I could have done it, father! I could have done it! For you! For all of us!" 

_Please, please,_ Thor thought. 

"No, Loki." 

Thor watched as a terrible resolute serenity crossed his brother's face. "Loki, no," he pleaded. 

Loki's fingers opened and he began to fall. 

Thor screamed his agony as he watched his brother plummet into the void. Odin pulled him onto the Bifrost as Loki's form diminished in the distance. 

Moments before it would have been too late, Mjolnir returned to Thor's hand and with a powerful swing he was... falling, flying, faster than Loki. 

Loki fought him when he caught up. "Let me go, Thor," he begged. His first punch broke Thor's nose, sending plumes of blood across both their faces. The next one was against his ear, enough to dizzy him even were he on solid ground. The third was on his eye and it almost immediately began to swell shut but Mjolnir had already turned them, taking them home. All he had to do was hold on to her with one hand, hold on to Loki with the other, and endure Loki's blows. 

He lost consciousness the moment he felt the soft grass of their mother's garden beneath his feet. 

He woke up in the healer's ward, covered in the grit of healing stones. "Where is Loki?" he demanded. 

Eir sighed. "He will prove... not so easy to heal." 

"What's wrong? He is injured? What happened to him?" 

She shook her head. "That is a matter to ask your parents." 

Her hand pressed down on his chest with surprising strength when he tried to sit up. "I want you to rest here another night. I will have them summoned, now that you are awake." 

"Tell them to hurry," he growled. 

"I will." 

He was woken from a half-sleep by the sound of the door. His parents were there, standing together at his bedside, relief writ large upon their faces. "Eir tells me I must ask you what it is that ails Loki." 

His mother took his hand and held it tightly between her own as his father began to speak. "Thor... your brother made a discovery in the treasury of something I had hoped he would never come to know." 

"What was it?" Thor demanded. 

"Your brother is our son but he is a child of the heart." 

Thor frowned. His head still ached and it was painful to think. "Speak plainly, whatever it is you would have me know." 

"I found Loki alone in a ruined temple at the end of the battle of Utgard. He was far too small to be left alone, too small even for an Aesir child... He was an innocent and I could not leave him there to die." 

Thor lay back, reeling. This was the knowledge that had tormented his brother, driven him to desperate acts... "And you let him grow up ignorant, and now he has learned that he himself is one of the monsters we were taught to fear. No wonder he tried to destroy himself once he failed to destroy them. And you, mother, you went along with this?" He turned pained eyes to her. 

"Your father never acts without reason. He wanted to make sure Loki never felt different." 

"Yet now he could hardly feel more so," Thor answered with a bitter laugh. "The question is, how to begin to heal him after such a cruel blow? How to make him feel that he is truly a part of our family?" 

His mother gave a deep sigh. "Well, one thing is for sure. You can't marry him." 

Thor paused. The thought wouldn't have crossed his mind, not in a million years, and yet... Besides, he hated being told what to do. "Why can't I?" he demanded. 

"He's your brother." 

"Freya and Freyr-" 

"They're not married." 

"But they should be. Everyone knows it." 

Eir stepped in. "He's getting upset. He needs to rest." 

"Of course I'm getting upset! There's one perfectly clear solution to our entire problem and I'm being told I can't do it!" 

"That's because you can't," said his mother. 

"Highnesses, please," said Eir. "I must insist." 

"Of course. Feel better, Thor," said his father. 

His mother leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Get some rest, dear. And remember, whatever you do, don't think about marrying Loki." 


	2. Chapter 2

Loki was busy feeling sorry for himself when Thor showed up at his door.

"These are for you," Thor said, nervously thrusting out a fistful of flowers.

Loki looked at them. "So you've changed your mind? You agree I was right to do what I did?"

Thor shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "No. No, that was horrible, but... everyone likes flowers, right? These were the prettiest ones I could find. Do you have some water?"

"There's a cup of tears on my dresser. I suppose you can use that."

"Thank you." Thor entered the room, closing the door behind him, and arranged the flowers with uncharacteristic care. "These were the prettiest ones I could find. I picked them to match your eyes," he babbled.

"They're red," Loki pointed out. He snuck a glance in the mirror. No, he hadn't been crying _that_ much.

"To match your Jotun eyes! So you would see how very fully I love and accept you."

Loki frowned. "Is this a trick? Are you plotting something?"

"What? No, of course not." He gave an awkward chuckle. "You look very nice today."

Loki turned back to the mirror. He did not look nice today. He certainly didn't look _very_ nice. His hair had gotten messy as he was pulled towards the void and he hadn't gotten around to brushing it. His eyes were not red but they did have red rings and his face was swollen and splotchy. "No, I don't," he answered.

"You always look very nice. Would you like some chocolates? Perhaps that would cheer you. I could go get you some chocolates."

Something was definitely up. Loki was quite certain that a gift of bonbons was not the usual response to the attempted annihilation of an entire realm. Thor _was_ plotting something, no matter how much he denied it. The flowers were the beginning of it and this offer was the next step and Loki did not trust it for one instant. Nope, no how, no way.

On the other hand, chocolate did sound good.

"No white chocolate, though," Loki said. "That shit is disgusting."

"Ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Oh, Loki, you're always so funny," Thor boomed.

"I'm not joking."

Thor's face straightened instantly. "Of course not. No white chocolate. I would never."

"I'm partial to dark chocolate."

"Dark chocolate with raspberry filling."

"Yes," Loki agreed.

"I'll be back as quickly as I can. You just wait here for me, alright?"

Loki looked at him suspiciously. "I have to. I'm under house arrest."

"Oh! I'll... I'll do something about that, as well. After all, you're a member of the family."

It wasn't meant to hurt; he knew that, and yet... "You're still here," Loki pointed out.

"Yes. I'm going. Right now." Thor gave him a big, sappy grin and disappeared down the hall.

 

The next person to darken Loki's door was not Thor but the queen. "Your highness," Loki said as he rose to his feet, his voice light and mocking to hide the gnawing in his heart. "I had not dared hope to be graced by such a majestic presence."

"You have had other visitors?"

"Thor. Of course the king could not be expected to visit a lowly prisoner. Especially one who has just been revealed as Jotun. Even if the king knew all along."

"Your father is engaged in diplomatic correspondence, trying to avert a war."

"There would be no need for that had I been allowed to continue," Loki hissed.

"To kill others for no crime greater than being born what they are? A harsh judgment, indeed."

"No harsher than Thor would have done, had I not intervened. Now I can only tell you how bitterly I regret doing so."

Her face softened, the fine lines from centuries of smiling clashing with her current sadness. "Never regret a choice made in both wisdom and compassion."

"I mostly just didn't want my liver being eaten for breakfast," he muttered.

"A wise choice, and compassionate to yourself and your companions," she smiled. "I am pleased Thor came to visit you."

Loki made a noise. "He was behaving very strangely."

Frigga's brows rose almost to her hairline. "Whatever do you mean?"

"He brought me flowers, and no sooner had he given them to me than he was leaving to get me a box of chocolates."

"He loves you. He wants to make sure you still feel a part of the family."

"But I don't. I'm not."

"Loki, you are my son. I may not have borne you but I love you just the same as Thor. I hope that one day, you will come to feel the truth again, that you really are a part of us."

"I don't see any way that could possibly happen," he told her flatly.

"Well, I know one thing that won't work. You can't marry Thor." She rose on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "Goodnight, dear."

He watched her go, her strong figure swaying elegantly down the hall. Her words echoed in his mind. _You can't marry Thor._ His eyes narrowed. "I do what I want, mother," he whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

"Brother! I have your bonbons!" Thor cried as he strode down the hall towards Loki's rooms.

He'd been to three different towns before he found someone with raspberry-filled dark chocolates, but it was worth it. They'd given him a sample to taste and the flavor was perfect, rich with a mellow creamy bitterness outside, bright and tart on the inside, just like a fresh raspberry. Bitter and tart and far more delicious for not being overly sweet. Just like Loki.

How Thor had taken so long to see what was right in front of his face, he couldn't think. He had made his way through nearly the entire pantheon, wooing, seducing, but no one had ever clicked. Never before had he known this rightness that told him there could be no other. And it had been there all along.

The door opened and Loki stood there looking every bit as radiant as when Thor had left. Oh, he had brushed the gorgonesque knots from his hair and washed the salt streaks from his cheeks and bespelled away the red rims from his eyes, but those were more change than improvement. He had also changed from his – decidedly attractive, Thor now realized – armor into something short and silken and very very clingy.

"Hello, Thor," Loki said sweetly. He gave a long feline blink and Thor wondered how he had never before noticed the length of his lashes. Positively seductive, they were. He shifted slightly so that his body was blocking the lamp behind him. Oh. His robe was sheer, as well as short. Quite sheer, and his stance had his legs far enough apart that the light shone through the cloth and revealed... yes. That. And a very nice one it was.

"I have your bonbons," Thor stammered. _You already said that, you fool, now he'll-_

"How charming of you. But I must insist upon you sharing them with me."

Loki took the offering with one hand and brought the other to the small of Thor's back, guiding him inside. Together they sank onto the thick pile of rugs Loki kept before his fireplace. Loki opened the box and removed a chocolate. Thor watched without breathing, without blinking, as Loki bit into it with a moan of pleasure.

"These are exquisite, brother. Here, taste." He held the other half up and Thor took it, making sure his lips brushed across Loki's fingers as he did so.

"Oh, Loki," murmured Thor.

"Oh, Thor," Loki breathed.

"Mmm, oh, my sweet brother."

"Kiss me, Thor, kiss me."

"Yes, Loki, I _will_ kiss you."

They kissed, and then they had sex – sexy sex, which was Thor's favorite kind – and then they took a bath. When the water began to cool they got out and dried each other off, which led to more sexy sex, and after that Thor took Loki's hand and gazed deep into his eyes.

"I know some people will say that we can't, but I don't care. Loki, will you marry me?"

He hadn't expected Loki to look quite so self-satisfied but his surprise was quickly washed away by his happiness when Loki answered, "Yes, Thor. Of course I will marry you. We'll be wed and happy and we'll show them all."

"Especially mother," Thor agreed.

"Yes. Especially her."

"Shall we go make the announcement? I must proclaim my happiness to the realms."

"I would love nothing more, but I'm still on house arrest."

Thor swore under his breath. "There must be some way of getting you to the Hall."

Loki's eyes sparkled. "What if you put me in chains?"

Thor's body responded instantly to the thought. So did Loki's.

"Do you have any chains?" Thor asked lazily, sometime later.

Loki rolled over to face him. "What do you think?"

"I think you are the most enchanting creature in all the realms."

"Well, that's a given. I'll go get them."

Loki got them, which led to yet more sexy sex, and then finally Thor was walking down an open corridor with his lovely brother to make their grandest of announcements.

 

Loki couldn’t help feeling pleased with himself as he walked at Thor’s side wearing his very prettiest shackles. He’d had no doubt that he could make Thor want to marry him just as much as he wanted to marry Thor, but the speed with which his plan had come to fruition had still surprised him. Now they were going to announce their pending nuptials and no one, not even their formidable mother, could stop them.

But, it seemed, she was going to try.

She met them outside the tall gilded doors. Beyond them their father could be dimly heard as he made his proclamations from Hlidskjalf.

"Thor, your father has ordered your brother to remain in his chambers."

"Because he tried to destroy Jotunheim, which he would not have done were he not so filled with confusion and self-loathing resulting from a lifetime of lies."

It really was most satisfying, having Thor argue so vehemently on his behalf. Loki could hardly tear his eyes from his brother's lips as he spoke.

"He tried to kill you once, what if he tries again?"

"Let's not lose sight of our purpose here, shall we?" Loki hastily interjected. "Thor and I have an announcement to make and we will not be stopped. Mother, we're in love and we're going to marry."

Her eyes grew wide and her hand flew to her mouth. "You can't. You _mustn't_."

Thor always had a particular way of setting his chin when he was about to be belligerent. He did it now and Loki was struck suddenly by how very charming it was. "There's no good reason why not and every good reason why we should. We could talk about diplomacy and the balance of power and the fact that our skills are perfect complements but all that matters to me is that I love him and I want to."

Loki slipped his hand into Thor's. "And I love him, and I want to, too." What a fool he'd been, ever looking elsewhere. All those experiences had done was to show him how perfectly suited to him Thor was compared to every other person alive.

Her eyes darted between them. "But what about heirs?"

"Sleipnir didn't get here via stork," Loki pointed out.

"But what about-"

"No, mother, we will hear no more," Thor told her.

"But-"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"Oh, very well. I suppose we'd best get this done, then."

She said it calmly. Someone who didn't know her as well as Loki did might even think she was happy about it, but he knew better. This was her 'resigned-but-determined' face that she used when she didn't like something but recognized that her energy was better spent in coping than in fighting. She was strong and wise, and even though she was terribly wrong about this, he loved her.

Strong and wise and _brave,_ he added, as he watched ribbons of seidr spill from her fingertips and turn into garlands of flowers until almost every square inch of the Great Hall was bedecked. Even were she in favor of this wedding, he would still have been impressed, but to be doing it for them now, for a wedding she didn't even want...

"Mother, this is beautiful," Thor said, clearly moved by her display.

"Yes, yes. Do you have rings?"

Loki looked at Thor, who gazed back, reflecting his horror. "We don't," Loki said. "We were in such a hurry-"

"No matter. It just so happens I've got some," she said, digging in her pocket. "Here you go."

Loki looked at the silver band she laid in his palm. It was etched with a motif of intertwined horns and wings. "It's us!" he said. "Imagine the odds of you just happening to be carrying these around. It almost defies belief."

Her eyes flared. "It does?"

"Well, not really, of course, but I like to tease. You know me."

She smiled at them both. "Yes. Yes, indeed. I do know you."


End file.
